Two of PlayStation’s biggest PC releases — Helldivers 2 and Horizon Forbidden West — disappeared from sale on Steam in the United Kingdom on 16 September, and Sony has not yet said why.
The games were pulled from the store in Great Britain, the Isle of Man and the UK, according to DayOne. Players who already own them can still install and play.
No reason was given when the listings went. DayOne’s report put it plainly: “It is unknown whether this is a bug or something else.”
Sony Interactive Entertainment responded later that day. Its statement was not published on a PlayStation channel — it was issued to VGC, which is where we have sourced it:
“We are aware of an issue affecting the availability of select titles on Steam in the UK. We are working with Valve to address the issue. We apologize for the inconvenience.”
That is the whole of it. It names the UK and it names Valve, but it does not list which “select titles” are affected beyond the two games players spotted, or say when they will be back.
Sony calls it an “issue” rather than a decision — a different framing from the last time Helldivers 2 went missing from Steam.
These are not small listings. Helldivers 2 launched on PC and PS5 in February 2024, and VGC notes it sold 12 million copies across both platforms in its first 12 weeks.
Horizon Forbidden West followed on PC in March 2024, sold on Steam as the Complete Edition, as part of Sony’s run of PlayStation ports to the platform.
In May 2024, Sony moved to require a PlayStation Network account for anyone playing Helldivers 2 on PC — a link that had been optional at launch. The change drew thousands of negative Steam reviews.
PSN is not available in every country. As GamesRadar+ reported at the time, the game was pulled from Steam in more than 170 territories without it, even after a community manager had assured players in those regions they could keep playing.
Valve stepped outside its own rules to deal with the fallout. GamesRadar+ noted that “Steam policy normally doesn’t allow for refunds if a player exceeds two hours in-game”, but refunds were being approved for players well past that limit.
Sony reversed the account requirement days later. Even so, PC Gamer found on 9 May 2024 that the game remained delisted in 177 countries and territories.
Arrowhead’s CEO said at the time that he was pushing PlayStation and Valve to undo it, adding: “I won’t rest in my desire to have it available everywhere.”
The UK was never on that list. PSN operates there, and the account requirement was dropped two years ago — so the 2024 explanation does not fit this week’s delisting, and Sony has not offered it as one.
There is a wider backdrop, too. Bloomberg first reported in March that Sony was pulling back from PC releases, and Game Informer’s write-up of the follow-up says Saros and Ghost of Yōtei are no longer coming to PC — the latter after plans for a port were scrapped.
In May, PlayStation Studios CEO Hermen Hulst told staff at a town hall that the company’s narrative single-player games would be PlayStation exclusive going forward, VGC reported.
According to that same reporting, the reasoning was commercial. PlayStation games had underperformed on PC, and there were concerns that PC versions could hurt console sales and the brand.
Multiplayer is a different story. Marathon and Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls are both named in Game Informer’s report as PC releases — which matters here, because Helldivers 2 is exactly that kind of game.
Hulst’s comments brought an end to the delayed PC ports that took Horizon and Spider-Man to Steam. But they were about future single-player releases, and nothing in this week’s statement connects the UK delisting to that strategy.
For now, the practical picture is simple. UK players who already own either game can keep playing. Anyone who does not cannot buy them on Steam until Sony and Valve sort it out.
Sony’s statement refers only to the UK, and no other region — Australia included — has been reported as affected.
We will update this story when the games return or Sony explains the cause.
VGC – Sony statement on UK Steam availability, DayOne – regions affected and existing owners, Steam – HELLDIVERS 2 store page, GamesRadar+ – 2024 PSN delisting, Game Informer – PlayStation PC strategy report, PC Gamer – 177 territories and Arrowhead response, VGC – PlayStation single-player PC strategy